Welcome to Scotland from the Roadside

Fàilte gu Alba à Taobh an Rathaid

Stormy Waves Crashing on to a Cold Beach by Andy MacD(winner of the Photo of the Month, December 2012)

Scotland: a land of
mountainsand
glens;
lochsand
rivers.
A land where there might not be, as some say, a
castleon every hill, but there is a story round every corner: from bloody
battleswith invaders or sometimes neighbours; mythical creatures haunting the
hills and the depths; to the struggle to tame the land. Scotland is a
land that evokes many emotions. The thoughts of the travellers as they
looks upon the land before him in awe and the feelings of people from
distant shores that can trace their families back to this land; all of
this goes in to making Scotland the place that many want to see; to
experience; to be part of.

With all this in mind we set off on a journey, passing many
historic landmarks along the way. From the old towns of
Edinburghand
Stirling,
with their castles perched on rocks; through the Trossachs and the
Borders that
owe much to the romance of Sir Walter Scott’s pen; on to the remoteness
of Argyll,
where the early settlers from Ireland, known to the Romans as the Scotti, ultimately gave Scotland its name; and into the
Highlands,
which to many defines Scotland: the Highlanders with their clans living
in their glens, with a culture and language so different to their
lowland cousins!

Dornoch Cathedral at Night by Ken(Winner of the Photo of the Year, 2012)

There is much more still to be seen as we follow in the footsteps of
earlier travellers, names that have become legends: William Wallace;
Robert the Bruce; Rob Roy MacGregor;
Bonnie
Prince Charlie. Following the roads through towns and villages; to visit and walk round the
buildings, the castles and churches, which have played their part in
the history of this nation; to look upon monuments and memorials and
wonder at the feats accomplished, the battles fought, the lives lived.

The journey doesn’t end on the mainland, which gives us the opportunity
to sail across the seas to islands with their views of distant, empty
horizons: the
Inner and
Outer Hebrides
to the west; the
Orkneys and
Shetlands in the
north. These islands have seen the Gaels and the Norse fighting over
them before they ultimately became part of the Scottish kingdom; their
place names serve as a reminder of their mixed cultures.

Finally, as the sun sets as the end of another day, we can
raise a glass of uisge beathaand bid slàinte
mhath to friends and fellow travellers. Then, once
the sun has disappeared below the horizon, we look forward to the days
ahead and the prospect of further journeys with more sights to see;
tales to tell; legends to discover.

Scotland from the roadside; the hillside; the loch side; the
boat side… join us on the
journeyround our very own field of dreams!